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Lot Essay
“A poor and sad child leaves me sorrowful; I paint him with the feeling that he has inspired in me. A beautiful girl in the nude fills me with joy, the desire to love, to be happy, and I would make the piece of cloth, the backdrop on which she poses, an expression of my delight” (Kisling, quoted in J. Kessel and J. Kisling, op. cit., p. 37).
Kisling asserted that no contemporary or past artist influenced his style; he relished his own individuality, enthusiasm, and passion. Yet one cannot deny the close similarities of the present painting to the nudes executed by his best friend, Amedeo Modigliani. The reclining figure in this painting, however, reflects the sensitivity to form, feeling, and pictorial essence that only Kisling could achieve. The body has weight and volume as if it were sculpture. Her almond-shaped eyes—a trademark of Kisling’s—and the energy of color show the sensuality and happiness Kisling strove to convey. As art critic Andre Warnod remarked, “The art of Kisling is like a cry of joy” (Le Figaro, Paris, 1957, p. 40).
Kisling asserted that no contemporary or past artist influenced his style; he relished his own individuality, enthusiasm, and passion. Yet one cannot deny the close similarities of the present painting to the nudes executed by his best friend, Amedeo Modigliani. The reclining figure in this painting, however, reflects the sensitivity to form, feeling, and pictorial essence that only Kisling could achieve. The body has weight and volume as if it were sculpture. Her almond-shaped eyes—a trademark of Kisling’s—and the energy of color show the sensuality and happiness Kisling strove to convey. As art critic Andre Warnod remarked, “The art of Kisling is like a cry of joy” (Le Figaro, Paris, 1957, p. 40).